Police: Woman in stolen car survives plunge off Bay Bridge
OAKLAND, Calif. --A woman who either jumped or fell off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge as she tried to evade police after crashing a stolen car somehow survived the plunge and was picked up by a dump truck driver, officials say.
California Highway Patrol officers responded at 2:06 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a crash on eastbound Interstate Highway 80 on the bridge. They saw a 2014 Nissan Maxima spinning out and they went to investigate, reports CBS San Francisco. When they arrived three women had exited the car and climbed over the railing to the bridge's walkway.
As the CHP officers got closer, one climbed over a second railing and either jumped or fell into the water 75 feet below, according to CHP spokesperson Officer Vu Williams. The other women were found, but they did not know her well and were questioned and released.
Other witnesses reported seeing her climb out of the water.
The officers saw her floating in the water until she went under the bridge and they lost sight of her. Using a dye pack to determine the direction of the current, police began a search for the woman. Police recovered her identification card, but there was no sign of her.
Later Wednesday, a dump truck driver came to Oakland's CHP office and told officials that he picked the woman up and drove her somewhere in the East Bay. His description of the woman matched the one CHP officers had.
The CHP received a few reports just before 6 a.m. that a woman who was wet tried to flag down drivers near the Bay Bridge. The police haven't been able to confirm those reports.
The woman who plunged off the bridge is believed to have been driving the Nissan, which was reported stolen from Los Angeles.
CHP officers are still trying to track down the woman and are following up on the address listed on her recovered ID, but have not determined if she still lives there. Her name has not been released.